The US president Barak Obama has been pursuing a diplomatic policy of “don't do anything stupid” in an effort to extract the US from various difficulties. But to his dismay, things are only getting worse.

Obama is at a crossroads in terms of how to cope with foreign affairs. “Don't do anything stupid” is regarded as his excuse for doing nothing in US foreign affairs. So what is the problem with his diplomatic policy?

Undue “consideration” is the main problem. Obama always “waits and sees” when he faces a geopolitical crisis. He has not paid enough attention to the geopolitical issues in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which has resulted in the US losing the confidence of its European allies. Moreover, the US has been ineffective in coping with the Syrian issue, enabling religious extremists to build up their forces.

Obama is too ready to take the ostrich approach, and attaches little importance to other geopolitical challenges. The US pays too much attention to its military strategy while neglecting its economic strategy. This is not the way to contain the rise of China, as China's rapid development is economic rather than military.

“Democracy and peace” are the core principles pursued by the US to buy its allies’ support and contain its opponents. However, the doubts of its Asian allies have been triggered by the US allowing Japanese right- wing forces to expand. America's disordered and unfocused diplomatic policy is worrying.

The article is edited and translated from《奥巴马外交只是“不做蠢事”？》, source: The Beijing News, author: Shi Zehua